I don’t know much about the National Endowment for the Arts. I know that they give money to artists, most of whom couldn’t make their art without the support.
So I went on their website to find out more. I found out that the Chairman is named Rocco, and his three sons are named North, Nash, and Dodge (So artistic!).
And after some detectiving, I read about what they’ve actually done. Cool stuff, but suffice to say, I don’t think marketing themselves is their strong suit.
Ain’t it the way with artists? They’ll be the first to tell you that they suck at the business side of their business. So thank goodness for the NEA, and for heroic businesses like the web-based Thumbtack Press, out there to celebrate and advocate for artists like Bob Dob, who's awesome work is featured at the top of this post.
And thank goodness for art and culture lovers in Chicago, who told the world through their actions that people in the city of warm shoulders are more than willing to have skin in the game of growing the local art scenes.
They came together in force during a series of town hall meetings in February. They were asked to brainstorm and contribute ideas to help nurture and grow the cultural roots of Chicago and they did just that. They papered the walls with great ideas. Now comes the hard part: putting them into play.
In an email answer to the reporter’s question, one of the project organizers said “You ask if…anything will come out of this…something has already come of this—a public declaration that residents care passionately about the cultural life of their city.”
All well and good, but the true test of community building—especially fueled from within—is if they can bring their ideas to fruition. Bravo to the participants, and good luck. I hope you’re taking curtain calls in a few years.
No comments:
Post a Comment